Participatory Approaches in Design Education

Abstract

Participatory processes enable quick results focusing on the real needs of users, as well as the possibility of extended life for environments through user contribution. Participatory spatial programming workshops enable people from different ages and fields to come together creating effective design solutions. This paper explains the significance of participatory design through a 'play equipment' project for an elementary school in Izmir, Turkey. Students from the Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design (IAED) and the Department of Architecture (ARCH) at the Izmir University of Economics (IUE) formed partnerships among themselves and with fourth year elementary school children to create a structure for a playground through educational workshops. The results informed the design students about how and where the school children played, what they liked to do in their break time, and which materials and equipment they preferred. The aim was for students of both departments to work together and understand variations in approach and scale, gain awareness of children's environments through Kevin Lynch's environmental descriptors, and to work in a participatory manner with children as the primary users. Creating awareness on participatory design was a successful trait of this project that was educational for the children and design students.